Wow. Twenty years after ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy was released Pullman has amazed and enthralled once again. A breathtaking Novel.

This is no small achievement as ‘His Dark Materials’ is one of the best selling trilogies of all time. Returning to the world of the Magisterium and Lyra Belacqua, Pullman has again formed a masterpiece of fiction.

‘The Book of Dust – Volume one – La Belle Sauvage’ demonstrates that he is the ‘latter-day King’ of originality in protagonist creation.

This time we follow a young boy named Malcolm Polstead. We follow him on a journey of self discovery which overlaps and includes the story of how Lyra ended up in the care of the Master of Jordan College. Set Prior to the Dark Materials trilogy this is not simply a prequel but a companion novel.

Exponentially deepening the world he created. This Novel includes far darker topics than it’s predecessor and to his his credit Pullman writes these topics in perfectly and with justifiable disgust and sensitivity.

This is my book of 2017. The 20 years of anticipation made it all the better.